Alex Rider 8th book
by Pork Eggrolls
Summary: Yes, i know crocodile tears is already out, i haven't read it yet. This is my own version of the 8th book.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, in all the other Alex Rider books theres some havoc created by the main antagonist in the first chapter. So here's mine. No Alex Rider yet. You'll see him in next chapter.**

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The room was luminous. Thousands of elliptical light bulbs hung from the decadent ceiling. The walls were cracked and mossy. In the middle of the room was a huge, cryptic glass tube containing green liquid and infinitesimal particles floating inside. The door of the room suddenly opened and a tall, skinny man stepped in. He wore a white lab coat, jet-black pants, lopsided glasses, and an insidious smile on his face. The man perused the tube, examining every last inch. Finally, the man nodded satisfyingly and took out a walkie-talkie with a green hexagon inscribed on it.

"Subject H2-118 is ready master," The man said.

"Good," a croaky voice rasped from the two-way radio, "You have done well. The Avenger is pleased. Prepare the next step."

"It will be done master," The man grinned and returned the walkie-talkie back into his pocket and pressed a blue button attached to the tube. Then, the miniscule particles that were floating desultory in the water began to shake and clump together, creating an amorphous blob of black, hardened, flesh. The shapeless substance began to shift and stretch, shaping itself into a crude image of a human.

"It is done!" The man screamed in joy. He threw his arms into the air and started to jig in excitement, "It is done! It is done! Yippee! Horray!"

The anthropoid glared at the man. His eyes were yellow flames; they stared, burning itself into the man's face. It was only then when the man realized he made a salient error. Once the creature was made, he had forgotten to create anything to control it. An echoing swear escaped from the man as the tube exploded. Glass shards darted across the room, shattering themselves as they smashed into walls. The man was launched into the air; the streaming water from the tube poured out and pushed the man head first against a concrete wall, breaking his neck and killing him instantly. The monster stepped out. His muscles bulged; the flame in his eye sockets crackled.

H2-118 was free.

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**So how'd you guys like it? Please comment and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alex Rider now! Enjoy!**

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"An oxygen atom contains eight protons and eight electrons. To find the neutron of an atom, you must subtract its atomic mass with the amount of protons it has. This oxygen atom has the atomic mass of…."

Alex Rider was in the middle of a chemistry class. His eyes gazed at a drawing of the Bhor model on the board, his ears listened to the monotonous voice of his teacher, the pencil in his hands scribbled notes from the esoteric lecture, and his brain tried to make sense of what the teacher is saying. He wasn't the only one having a difficult time. Almost every other student in the class was frowning; confused looks etched on their faces.

"Because of that, this oxygen atom has nine neutrons. However, not all oxygen atoms have this many neutrons. Atoms that have a different amount are called isotopes. For example, this oxygen atom has the atomic mass of-"

"Mr. Lenoy," A boy from the classroom called out.

"Yes, Adam," The teacher responded.

"What in the name of Jesus are you talking about?" Adam cried out.

Laughter erupted from the classroom; even Alex chuckled. It relieved him to know that he wasn't the only one clueless.

Mr. Lenoy sighed.

"Would someone like to enlighten Adam?" He asked to the class.

Sherry, a girl from the back raised her hand.

"Since oxygen is number eight on the Periodic Table, it has eight protons and eight electrons. The atomic mass is how much mass the atom has. Protons and neutrons make up the most of the atomic mass therefore you must subtract the atomic mass from the number of protons to get the number of neutrons."

A cry of comprehension shot out of the class. There were mumblings of "I get it now" and "Oooh"s from Alex's classmates. Yet, Alex still didn't understand. Since oxygen is number eight on the Periodic table, Alex repeated Sherry's words to himself, it has eight protons and eight electrons. What does that mean? Alex asked himself. He still wasn't quite sure what protons and electrons were. Alex started to worry.

Ever since he returned to his educational life, Alex was miles behind from everybody else in most classes. He had worked as hard as he could to try and catch up but he still failed in two of his courses and barely scraped a pass from the others. As for sports, Alex didn't even make it to the soccer team. Months of no practice have taken a huge toll on him and he could barely score goals even on the suckiest players these days. But worst of all was his social life. Alex became very popular when he came back to school but it was not to his favor. There were rumors and gossips all over the school about his legendary illness and his huge scars and injuries. At first, people were scared of him; even his friends from the old days had tried to stay as far away from him as possible. Then, the fear quickly abated when they realized how harmless Alex really is and everyone in school began to pick on him. They tried to trip him as he passed through the hallways. Twice, his locker was vandalized and broken into. Alex was beaten up almost daily by bullies; although he was a good fighter, he was always outnumbered in the after-school fights and was hurt terribly every time, it also didn't help that the shoulder where he was shot debilitated him. Frustration and anger swelled up in Alex's stomach. It's not fair, Alex thought, I deserve more; if it wasn't for me none of them will be here today. They'd either be dead or dying in the hospital from the virus from Sayle Enterprise.

The only person did care for Alex these days was his guardian, Jack Starbright.

"You've worked so hard," Jack had said when Alex showed her his report card, "I don't care what you're grades are. I see you work every last minute. You're coping with a life nobody else could cope with. Keep on working Alex; I know you'll catch up."

It was a warming, affectionate advice but Alex's spirits were not raised. As much as he had tried, as much as he had worked, he was still just as behind as he had started. What's the point anyways? Alex thought, by the time I do catch up, MI6 will just force me into another mission and I'll be behind yet again. And next time, I'll probably run out of luck and get killed. There were countless times when Alex had almost died in his missions and it was only sheer luck that he had made it through. But for what, Alex thought again, what have I survived for? For this? Getting knocked out cold by bullies every afternoon?

The bell rang; school was over. And a fuming Alex began to walk out of the classroom.

"Just a second, Alex," A voice called out as Alex approached the doorway. Alex turned around and saw Mr. Lenoy at his desk staring at him. The teacher waited for all the other students to leave before getting up and accosting him.

"Thirteen homework assignments," Mr. Lenoy ranted, "five essays, two projects, and six reports, all missing."

"I know sir," Alex began "I've been trying really hard-"

"When I first met you, Alex" Mr. Lenoy interrupted, "you were a hard-working, down-to earth student, always the best in the class, always ahead of others.

"But ever since your 'illness', I've been noticing some changes in you. You failed your last exam, screwed up in the previous labs, and turned in your class assignments ever since as incompleted. This isn't like you Alex. You were such a good student. So I want to know, what happened?"

Alex sighed. He wanted to tell Mr. Lenoy about the MI6 and CIA missions he was forced to take. He wanted to tell him about the constant disrespect, the never-ending whispers, and the continuous bullying in his life. He wanted to tell him about being severely depressed and miserable. He wanted to say how difficult school was for him when he returned. But most of all, Alex wanted Mr. Lenoy to understand; he wanted him to know that the reason why he didn't do his work was not because he was indolent or that he didn't want to, it was because he was so busy and stressed out. But as much as Alex wanted to explain, he didn't know where to begin; it wasn't just because he couldn't find the words, Alex had always had trouble when it comes to expressing his emotions. It was already hard enough sharing his feelings to Jack; he certainly couldn't do it to Mr. Lenoy.

"Nothing sir," Alex replied, "It's nothing."

The two locked gaze at each other for a moment.

"Fine," Mr. Lenoy finally said. The soft, warming voice he had earlier was now cold, "if it's nothing then I expect those assignments to be turned in by the end of this week. If you don't, I'm afraid I'll have to fail you. Have a nice day Alex."

He slowly strolled back to his desk and started grading papers. Alex watched him for a few minutes and then left.

Why didn't I say anything? Alex thought as he stepped out of the school building. He was furious with himself. There were so many things I could have said to him, Alex thought, but no, I had to say nothing, I had to-.

"Oy! Sick Boy!"

Sick Boy was the new nickname his school had given him since he had been "sick" for the past few months. Wherever Alex went, nearby people would always cry out "Here comes the Sick Boy" or pretend to be Paul Revere and scream "The Sick Boy is coming! The Sick Boy is coming!". It drove Alex crazy. So when Alex heard the voice, he instantly looked up. There were four big, muscular boys waiting for him at the entrance of the school building.

"How's it going, Sick Boy?" The burliest boy of the throng sneered.

"Been ill lately?" Another boy mocked.

"No," Alex answered. The boys surrounded him; there was no way for him to run.

"Not sick?" The burliest boy said again, "Well we're gonna make you then. Get him!"

The vehement four launched themselves at Alex. They punched and kicked all over Alex's body; before long, Alex's clothes were all torn and mangled, he was bleeding all over. One of the boys ripped open Alex's backpack and spilled out the contents inside. They threw his books, smashed his ipod, and shredded his homework and papers.

"Look at him, Fred. He looks so pathetic," One of the boys laughed.

Alex groaned and tried to get up and was immediately knocked back down.

"You're weak," The leader of the bunch said as he crouched and leaned forward to Alex's face, "We're just trying to help you. Wimps deserve to be toughened up, right?"

He stood up and called out to his group, "We're done for today. So long Sick Boy!"

Alex stared at the sky as he waited for the bullies to be completely out of sight. Dark clouds had formed and before long, the sky was pouring with rain, wetting Alex and his possessions. Alex got up to his feet and began gathering his stuff. He was beaten up like this almost everyday and every time Alex would just get up afterwards and continue his way back home. But something snapped within Alex after today's beating; something inside of Alex broke. The tiny droplets of water landed onto the concrete ground were now a mixture of rain and tears. For the first time in years, Alex was crying. He sobbed; a gush of emptiness swept into his body. And that was when Alex finally accepted the fact that no matter how much he tried to fit back in, there was no way for him to go back to his old life. The time he had spent at MI6 had changed him. He no longer belonged at school. The normal life he once had was over and it was abysmal to try and bring it back.

The heavy, ephemeral rain had come to a stop. As much as Alex abhorred the idea, it was his only choice. He dropped the papers he had garnered and slowly trudged his through the wet ground and morose water vapor. There was only one place where he could turn to now. He had to go back to the MI6.

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**Sorry, ending kinda sucked. Please review peoples!**


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you Ambrele for being the first to comment on my story. I appreciate you for taking your time to read my story. Now, it's time for another chapter. Enjoy!

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The Royal and General Bank was one of the largest structures in London. Over 3000 feet tall, the massive building towered over many others; it stood out in the city like a diamond in a coal mine. But the Royal and General's true purpose wasn't to serve as bank; that was just an ingenious cover story. It was the hideout for UK's Secret Intelligence Service: MI6. Founded in 1919, the MI6 proved to be an outstanding source of protection for not only UK, but also almost everywhere else in the world. They claimed to be UK's symbol of power, they were England's source of strength, they keep the "Great" in Great Britain.

Alan Blunt, the chief executive, was sitting at his office. The head of operations, Mrs. Jones, was sitting across him.

"Alex is down in the lobby. He's asking for a request for an appointment with us," Mrs. Jones said, reaching for a cup full of peppermints laying on Blunt's desk.

"I'm not surprised," Alan Blunt replied. There didn't seem to be anything that could surprise the man. He was pale, his waxy skin looked unreal, as if they were artificial. His eyes wore a type of weariness, as if they had seen everything there is to see.

"You knew he would come?" Mrs. Jones asked. It sounded more of an accusation than a question. But Alan Blunt decided to ignore the statement altogether.

"Alex is not doing well academically, which isn't unexpected. He has missed too much of his education during his time serving us. He is also in high school now; the courses he takes there are a lot more difficult than the ones he took in middle school. A normal kid would already have had extreme difficulty catching up if he only missed a week, and Alex has missed months. In fact, I'm impressed that Alex even managed to pass a few or his classes," Blunt announced.

"So what are you trying to say?" Mrs. Jones inquired.

"Alex will attempt to go back to his own life, but he will quickly discover that he is hopeless. It will not be the most pleasant realization but he must find out himself that he will have no choice but to come to us, or stay and fail school. This, isn't something we can tell him; he will not believe us if we did. And now, I believe he has discovered his fate and has come to us for help. Invite him in, Mrs. Jones," Blunt ordered.

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Alex Rider found himself a seat in Alan Blunt's room. Everything looked almost exactly the same as the last time he had been here: neat, tidy, and spacious. Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt sat across him, their legs were crossed. It might have been Alex's imagination but he thought he smelled a faint fragrance of peppermint coming from Mrs. Jones breath.

"So what brings you here with us today, Alex?" Blunt asked. Until now, Alex had only thought about how to get an appointment with the MI6; he hadn't thought what he would say when he finally gets to meet them.

"Um," Alex racked his brain, trying to think of words, "I'm doing badly at school."

"And?" Blunt pressed, "What do you think we can do about this?"

"It's just hard!" Alex cried frustratingly, "Is there some way you can help me about this?"

"We are members of the MI6, Alex," Blunt coldly said, "We are not school tutors."

"But can't you help me?" Alex irately argued, "There must be something you can do."

"Who do you think we are, Alex?" Blunt asked, "We cannot get out a magic wand and make you smarter. We cannot build a time machine and send you back in time for you to catch up."

Alex sat in his seat with shock and despair. If not even MI6 could do anything to help him, then he was screwed.

"There might be something we can do to help," Mrs. Jones said, "We can do _that_."

Alex raised his head again. Hope began to light in his eyes.

"What can you do? What is that _that_ you guys are talking about?" Alex asked.

"Well Alex, we are not like God, we cannot fix everything for you with a wave of a hand," Blunt said, "but we can help you. We can't guaruntee you that everything will go back to normal again but we can try to make your life easier."

"How?"

"We could speak to your teachers and tell them that you are having a tough time currently. We can let them give you extra help and not be as strict to you as the other students until you have caught up. And we may not be school tutors ourselves but we can always assign one to you. I can assure you we will be able to find the best in all of England."

"Yeah, it'd be grateful if you guys will do that-"

"I'm not finished, Alex," Blunt interrupted, "See, we are undergoing some international problems currently. And we need a veteran agent to help us."

Suddenly, Alex went cold. He should've known there was a catch for MI6's offer.

"So," Alex began, "You'll help me in school if I volunteer to do another mission for you two."

"Precisely. Remember Alex, we don't do anything for free. And what was that expression again? You scratch our back and we'll scratch yours."

"It won't be that hard," Mrs. Jones added, "this mission is not too difficult. With skills like yours, this might just be like a walk in the park for you."

Alex thought it through. The last thing he wanted to do was to take another insane mission and fight another ludicrous madman and come back with dozens of lacerations. But if he didn't have much of a choice. If he refused, he'd be left with failing grades, a terrible scholarship and education degree, and only lackluster jobs available to him in the future. The two were just as bad but Alex decided that at least he'd be helping his country if he took the offer.

"Alright, I'll accept. So what's the mission?"

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Meh. Not very good. Sorry if this was a disappointment. Please comment on this story. I probably going to delete this story if I don't get much reviews so if you want to read more, comment please! :)


	4. Chapter 4

I'm back with another chapter! yay! First, I would like to thank all of you for commenting on my story! I really wouldn't have written this if it wasn't for you guys. :). Second, I want to say that it's been years since i last read Eagle Strike so i forgot much of it. i'm not sure what i wrote is 100% accurate. so if it isn't, sorry.

well, enjoy the new chapter

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The plane was a wreck. Everything inside was obliterated. The seats were torn and scattered all over the floor. Pieces of glass covered the bloodstained carpet. Amidst the wreckage, a single man was laying on his back. His hand was covering a bullet wound on his chest. His breathe was short and soft.

The plane had crashed. Flames surrounded the annihilated machine, burning the steel of the metal. In the cockpit, the corpse of another man was being scorched. His neck was broken. His name tag read Henri.

The pilot's dead, the other man thought as he watched the burning body. He painfully got up to his feet and took off his heavy bulletproof vest. The bullet Damien Cray had shot him with had plunged ominously far into his body. Two of his ribs were broken by upon impact. But the vest had prevented it from being fatal. It had served him well.

There was the sound of police sirens from the outside, but the man welcomed the noise. It made him feel alive. He dragged his feet through the shattered glass and blazing wood and trudged towards the exit.

Very few people could survive such a gunshot. The shock and pain would prove too much for them to continue. But this man wasn't like other men. I'm an elite assassin, he thought as he stumbled across the plane, I'm an agent of Scorpia; I'm one of the world's most dangerous and wanted beings.

Fatigue and agony stabbed him as he jumped off the plane and landed onto the concrete ground. The cackling fire grew bigger through the running wind and some of the ember blew onto his clothes. With a cry, the man slapped at the red sparks. But he tripped on a metal bar and his body went ablaze.

No, the man thought, I can't die yet, not after getting so far. His hands and grabbed onto his shirt and he tore the habiliment apart. He rolled in the dust, smoldering the raging flames.

When the fire was finally extinguished, the man was on the ground, gasping for breath. His flesh was red and bleeding; his body engulfed with splinters. But I survived! He thought, that was the most important part. The man got back on his feet once more stepped through the cloudy, white smoke.

Yassen Gregorovich was back.

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"What do you mean he's still alive?" Alex roared. His face was covered with disbelief. He had seen Cray shoot him. He had been certain he was dead.

"We know how you feel," Mrs. Jones gravely responded, "We are just as shocked and displeased by the news as you are."

"I saw him die!" Alex said, shaking his head, "You're wrong."

"Our men had searched the crashed plane. They found the burnt body of Henri, but Yassen's corpse was not found."

"His body could've been destroyed our something!" Alex cried, "How are you guys _sure_ that Yassen is alive?"

"We _aren't_ sure," Blunt said, "But our men did find Yassen's vest, which turned out to be a bullet proof; and Yassen's torn shirt, which was burning outside the plane. So if you put two and two together, Yassen most likely managed to elude the plane at the very last second, but lost his shirt and vest in the process. But you could be right; we have no solid proof that he's still alive. Yassen might've done something like tearing off his shirt, throwing it out the plane, somehow blowing himself up into a million pieces, and burning those particles to ashes; but that doesn't seem likely does it?"

Alex was shocked and terrified, but within that fear laid an equilibrium feeling of hope. There was many reasons why Alex wanted Yassen to be alive. One of them was because he wanted to know more about his father. And after Ash died, Alex had been afraid that there was no one left to tell him. Yassen had been his father's apprentice when he pretended to work for Scorpia, There was probably know one else in this world who knew about John Rider than that blond Russian assassin. So if only Alex could accost him….

But that was impossible. Yassen was a murderer, a man was wanted for millions for his crime. He'd probably kill him at first sight. And if Yassen still works for Scorpia, he'd have even more reason to show him no mercy. It doesn't matter if Yassen was alive or not, there was no way I could possibly talk to him without getting a bullet in my head, Alex thought. But still, he dreamed….

"Back from Wonderland yet?" Blunt asked and Alex's attention immediately redirected to the man. Alex then realized that he had probably been staring into empty space for the past few minutes.

"Uh, yes," He replied.

"Good. Well, your task has nothing really to do with Yassen. We only told you so you would be warned and not be too surprised if you happen to get confronted by him."

"So what's my mission?" Alex asked.

"As you may have read recently in the newspapers, there has been a disaster lately," Blunt reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small laptop. He turned it on and Alex stared at the screen. It displayed a huge crater in the middle of the streets. Crashed cars spilled over the roads. Some people were edging closer to the giant hole, probably trying to see the cause of it. But whatever the cause was, those citizens never found out. The area around the crater suddenly exploded and a black figure, shaped crudely in the form of a human, shot out of the smoke. His body was muscular; his eyes were yellow flames burning in the sockets. The creature leapt at a screaming woman and tore her body to pieces. And within minutes, tens of people perished by the creature. The police finally arrived to the scene when the monster was ravaging the body of a dead child. They fired but the bullets only bounced innocuously off the creature's body; one even sprang back to its owner, killing him instead.

After the people realized that the police couldn't handle the creature any better than they could, military forces arrived. They fired lasers and machine guns at it but those didn't seem to work either. Grenades were thrown but when they denotated, they only destroyed the cement ground and objects around it. The creature was left without a scratch.

Finally, after two hours of futile attempts to terminate the monster, a military sergeant roared on his walkie-talkie and ordered the creature to be bombed with a nuclear missile. It seemed like a ridiculous and crazy idea, but they could find no other way to stop it.

It took the citizens three more hours to completely evacuate the city and then the jet flew over the town. The pilot aimed at the creature and fired the nuclear torpedo dead on the target. The explosion, according to some of the citizens, was bone-rattling.

It took nearly fifteen minutes for all the smoke to clear. And when the vapor evaporated, it unveiled some horrifying images. The city was in ruins. Beautiful buildings and structures that had been carefully constructed were in ashes. People who didn't depart on time's body were mangled and buried in the heavy stones. But the creature was no where to be found.

"It was as if that thing pulled a magic trick and poofed and disappeared," One interviewed citizen said.

Two days after the tragedy, the police uncovered over five thousand casualties and the number is still climbing. The citizens that escaped were now homeless and starving. As Alex watched a small girl stealing from a city store, Blunt closed the laptop and placed it back into his desk.

"This event occurred in Tokyo, Japan," Blunt said, "it is world's most serious attack since 9-11. As you saw in the video, the creature has not been found. Most believed, or hoped, that the monster died in the bombing. His body was simply annihilated into particles so small, it couldn't be found."

Blunt got up from his desk and walked around his office.

"I wish, just as much as them, that that is the case. But unfortunately, it is most likely not.

"Just like Yassen, our men could not find any traces of the creature's body any where in the city. We even used our most advanced technology, ones created personally by Mr. Smithers to search for it. The creature is most likely still out there, and it is our job to get rid of it."

"Wait," Alex interrupted. He was pretty sure what Blunt wanted him to do, "So you're going to ask me, a fifteen-year-old kid, to kill something not even a nuclear missile can destroy? That's bull!"

"But you are not a kid, Alex" Blunt answered, "You are mature enough to be a young adult, maybe even past that. And no, we are not asking you to terminate it. I agree that there is no way that you can."

"Then what do you want me to do then?" Alex asked.

"I've already sent a few of my agents to uncover clues to what the creature is. And one of my men happened to find a building in the middle of the Sahara Desert. He found the body of a dead man and a broken glass tube inside and after examining carefully, he managed to retrieve some important data about the creature."

"What did he find?"

"Two months ago, that dead man created a test subject named, 'H2-118'. A walkie-talkie was found on the dead man and our agent discovered that this man has been taking orders from someone known as 'The Avenger'. Last week, H2-118 was finally ready and the man freed it to send it on its first mission. Unfortunately, H2-118 appeared to have disobeyed him and killed him instead."

"So you think this H2 thing is what attacked Tokyo?" Alex asked.

"Precisely. Not only did the two organisms look the same, they seemed to have the same symptoms and abilities."

"But how did it know to attack Tokyo?" Alex asked, "Who gave it orders?"

"We are unsure but we believe that H2-118 is following orders from The Avenger," Blunt said.

"Great," Alex said, "So what do you want me to do then?"

"We want you to find this Avenger person. We have tested the man's DNA and we have found out his identity. His name was Norman Mannings, from a small city in Niger."

"We will send you to that city tomorrow Alex," Mrs. Jones said, "It's not much, we're not even sure if Avenger is anywhere near there, but it's a start."

"This doesn't seem to be some kind of MI6 mission," Alex stated, "Sounds like some kind of Sherlock Holmes detective job instead."

"You might be surprised by how dangerous this mission might turn out," Blunt said gravely, "But don't worry Alex, you're not going by yourself."

"I'm not?" Alex said.

"No, Alex," Mrs. Jones answered, "We think this mission is far too advanced to send just you."

"You may come in!" Blunt then called out. The door opened and another man stepped in. Alex gasped, he recognized him immediately.

"Hey Alex," The man said, "It's me, Ben Daniels. We're going to do this mission together."

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and there you go. please comment on my story. i want to know what you think of it. if you want to criticize it, then go ahead, i'll be glad to read whatever you write.

and if you're bored and want to read something else written by me, i wrote another story called "how the grinch stole happyland". It's short but entertaining. sorta....


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello fans and readers! It's been a long time since i have last updated. some of you who had suscribed to me must be scratching your heads right now, trying to recall what story this was. I must say, i have really have no excuse as to why I did not upload for so long. Writer's block is only temporary, and usually last about a few weeks or so, not almost a quarter of a year. Anyways, when was the last time i updated? September? i can't remember. Well, my birthday passed during this long period and I am now 14, the same age as Alex! Yay! Well, enough talk. Please enjoy reading the fifth chapter of alex rider! **

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The moment Alex entered the office, a large, jolly man inside cried out, "Hey Alex! How's it going?"

Alex couldn't help but grin. The benign Mr. Smithers always seemed to cheer him up.

"How did my gadgets do last mission?"

"It would've helped if you had sealed the batteries into the watch you gave me so my godfather wouldn't have stolen them," Alex replied.

The smile on Mr. Smithers face fell.

"I'm sorry about Ash. I never would have guessed he worked for Scorpia."

Alex shrugged indifferently.

"He wasn't a good guardian anyways. I didn't like him that much."

"Now you listen to me," Mr. Smithers said, "You're godfather was a great man. Before he was stabbed, he may not have been a great agent, but I can tell his heart was really into the job. It was a pity things had to end the way it did for him."

"Yeah, he was a great man alright," Alex replied in a caustic tone, "Killing my father, the man who saved his worthless life after he caused a fiasco on his mission."

Mr. Smithers shook his head.

"Alex, let me tell you a story. Before I became a technician, and before I became rather," Mr. Smithers paused and looked at himself, "Rather um, big, I was an agent for the MI6."

The obese man's pudgy face sprung another smile as he looked nostalgically back at the past.

"I was assigned to D unit," Mr. Smithers explained, "And you know who else was in that team?"

"Mr. Blunt?" Alex guessed sarcastically.

Mr. Smithers shook his head, not seeming to catch on to Alex's sarcasm, "Nope. It was your godfather Ash. See, he was the leader of our unit. I remember when he-"

"Mr. Smithers," Alex interrupted acrimoniously, "I'm here to claim whatever new gadgets you got, not to listen to your past life with my pathetic, late guardian."

He regretted it the moment he said it. Out of all the workers in MI6, Mr. Smithers was perhaps the only who he would call a friend. The tools that the man had given him had saved his life countless times. The least he could have done to repay Mr. Smithers would have been to at least politely listen to his tale.

"I'm sorry," Alex immediately blurted out, "Please continue."

Mr. Smithers smiled once more, but Alex can see that it was forced.

"It's alright," Mr. Smithers replied, "You're right, my job isn't to lecture you. Now follow me into the my newest gadget collection warehouse."

Still feeling ashamed of his impertinence, Alex pressed on, "Really Mr. Smithers I didn't mean what I said. You can continue if you-"

But the chubby man raised a hand, dismissing the idea. And ruefully, Alex followed him.

"Now I see everyone these days have one of those new Apple invention; the itouch. So I figured you should have one yourself."

Mr. Smithers opened a drawer and pulled out a black case. Alex opened it and an ipod touch slid out.

"There are three applications on there," Mr. Smithers explained as Alex turned on the itouch, "The first one is Doodle Jump."

Alex flicked the screen and pressed on an icon with a picture of a funky-looking alien wearing a striped shirt. Immediately, the application opened and Alex saw the main menu screen, which has been set to Christmas mode and the high score as 23751.

"I'm sorry. I was bored yesterday and decided to play it," Mr. Smithers said sheepishly.

"It's no problem," Alex muttered as he launched a new game and began twisting and turning the device to get to the next platform and tapping on the screen to shoot floating monsters, "So what can this application do? If I shoot a particular alien, the itouch will blow up or something?"

Mr. Smithers grinned appreciatively at the joke and replied, "It's mostly for entertainment purposes, but if you go to the options and reset the high score, a long sharp wire will shoot out from the headphones plug and can attach to a wall or ceiling. The wire is made out of titanium so you can climb up the wire. Mind you, don't eat too much because the wire can only hold up to about two hundred pounds."

Alex nodded to show he understood and then murmured a swear when the Doodler fell off a block and fell to his death. He closed the game and looked at the remaining two applications.

"Now this one here is Text Plus." Mr. Smithers pointed to a green colored application, "You don't need to open this one but if your in a tight spot, type in 5/14/67 and we will try to get to you as fast as possible."

Once more, Alex nodded.

"And lastly, perhaps my favorite application, Tap Tap Revenge 3," Mr. Smithers said.

"I liked Tap Tap Revenge 2 better," Alex replied.

"Well, you can download that later from the app store. But on this application, play the song Fireflies by Owl City in Extreme level and the itouch will explode. Useful to break locks or injure someone."

Alex noticed how Mr. Smithers said "injure" instead of "kill".

"Is that all?" Alex asked.

"All on the itouch. I have some more items I need to give you." Mr. Smithers reached into his drawers and pulled out a three foreign coins with the numbers 1, 5, and 10 inscribed on each of them.

"I liked the idea of coins that I used for your last mission, so I decided to use it again."

"That's good," Alex said, "I liked them too."

"But this time, each coin has a different purpose. The 1 coin, as you can see, is the thinnest of the bunch. The edges are actually razor sharp and can cut through steel. The 5 coin is like a mini-grenade that will react to human saliva. Lick the coin and then throw it and it will create an explosion that can k-, um, I mean injure several enemies ten feet radius. Lastly, the 10 coin is magnetic and when stuck to metal surfaces for 10 seconds, it will explode itself and blow up a reasonable portion of the metal as well. So there you go."

Alex didn't know what to say. Once more, Mr. Smithers had given him such useful tools and asked for nothing in return. He now felt even more ashamed at his previous outburst. He still felt like he owed Mr. Smithers a proper apology.

"Thanks Mr. Smithers. And about my interruption earlier, I want to say that I really am sorry-"

"I forgive you," Mr. Smithers cheerfully said. He walked back to his computer resting on his desk, "Now run along now. You've stayed here far too long."

* * *

**Wow, now that is just painfully short.... I feel as though i should make it a lot longer because i haven't posted for so long. Well, tell me what you think! please review! also, my friend told me that "Alex Rider 8th book" is a rather lame title for this series and I am planning to change it. if you have any suggestions for the title, please add it on the comment section. i promise i will read, think, and consider all the suggestion. Also, many of you have questioned why Alex got beat up. If you continue reading, you will find out the reason in a very near future chapter. Another reviewer said that the nuclear bomb is kinda unrealistic, and i must say, you're right. Gosh, i really don't know what i was thinking when i wrote the previous chapter. I guess it's a little late to change it now? well, i have an idea, let's pretend it wasn't a nuclear bomb, but like a mini bomb? a small one? **

**Lastly, if you guys have any suggestions what should happen next in the story, feel free to put it in the comments. don't be afraid. in fact, put as many comments as you want, add hundreds of them, i dont care. i love comments. :D.**

**well, i ran out of things to say, so until next chapter then! I'll try to update the next chapter a lot quicker next time. **


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